"Black Tortoise..." Huo Yuhao repeated inwardly. At this point, changes of this magnitude had already left him numb.
Moreover, the transformation was very much like Big Brother Bei Bei's. Both had gone from a Martial Soul containing the bloodline of a divine beast to a true divine beast Martial Soul.
But Huo Yuhao remembered that divine beast Martial Souls, besides granting tremendous power, were also supposed to place a huge burden on the body. At the Soul Master Tournament in his previous life, Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi had successfully awakened their divine beast bloodlines, but without exception, both had suffered an enormous burden on their Soul Power.
Yet from what he could see now, there was no difference between them and ordinary people. Even when Big Brother Bei Bei used his Martial Soul, he showed no particular signs of strain.
Had the burden of a divine beast's bloodline itself lessened... or had the people of Douluo Continent grown stronger physically?
"Thank you, Big Brother Zhou Yuan. That's enough for me to know!"
"Hey, it's no trouble at all. If there's anything else you want to know, little junior, just come find me!"
After chatting casually with Zhou Yuan for a few more minutes, Huo Yuhao said goodbye to the group and headed to the cafeteria. But before leaving, he couldn't help glancing at Jiang Nannan, who had already walked away, and Xu Sanshi, who stood there holding flowers with a dejected look.
"Just as I thought... there's still some conflict between them." Huo Yuhao shook his head. Reality had already been changed beyond recognition. His experience from his previous life... apart from recognizing certain people, it was basically useless now. He couldn't very well make rash guesses about the true relationship between the two.
"I should get used to life at this school first. There's plenty of time after that to see just how much that Pope has changed this world."
In the afternoon, it was time for the students to report to their classrooms.
Huo Yuhao wore the white uniform they had been issued, with the Spirit Hall emblem pinned to his chest.
However, the emblem was white like the uniform, too. Unless you looked closely, you could hardly tell them apart.
Huo Yuhao walked into the classroom and chose a seat slightly forward of the middle. In his experience, the view of the blackboard from there was the best, and his neck felt most comfortable. Most importantly, it was the spot where the teacher was most likely to notice him.
Granted, Zhou Yi's teaching philosophy seemed not only extreme to him, but almost fanatical. Even so, she had unquestionably been a mentor worthy of his respect.
So now, he wanted to see what this other Zhou Yi was like, and what sort of teaching philosophy she had in mind.
The classroom was anything but quiet. Most of the students were only six years old, after all. Huo Yuhao didn't mind. He simply opened the textbooks already laid out on his desk and picked up one labeled "History."
At that moment, Huo Yuhao, quietly reading his book, was practically an oddity in the classroom. The others were either chatting with the new friends they had just made or wandering around aimlessly.
Suddenly, a loud knock sounded at the door. But it didn't catch everyone's attention, and the classroom remained noisy.
Only when a whispered "The teacher's here!" spread from the doorway across the whole classroom did everyone hurriedly find a seat. Most of them scrambled to get the seats in the back.
Fortunately, there was exactly one desk and chair for each student. Otherwise, Huo Yuhao might have ended up as the only one sitting at the very front.
"...Sigh. It seems you're not too happy about having an old woman for a homeroom teacher."
Zhou Yi looked at the students with some disappointment. Sighing as she walked up to the lectern, she spotted Huo Yuhao—and a glimmer lit her eyes.
In that instant, the two exchanged a look.
"But fortunately, a few little ones are still kind enough to show me some respect. In that case, I can't go on looking so glum."
Zhou Yi smiled first. Then, without warning, she suddenly threw the lesson plan onto the lectern, braced both hands against it, and looked at the class with a stern expression.
"Your time for laughing and fooling around is over. First, let me introduce myself."
"I'm Zhou Yi. Starting today, I'll be your homeroom teacher for the next six years. At Spirit Soul Academy, the Primary Division is the easiest stage. The courses and assignments are all simple. But don't think you can treat this place like a playground at home."
"The courses and assignments are easy so that you can increase your Soul Power during the years when it grows fastest. Anyone who's a Soul Master can enter the Primary Division. The Spirit Hall doesn't need to spend many resources to support a group of Soul Masters, so you can consider this a charitable act by the Pope."
"But to advance from the Primary Division to the Intermediate Division, and then to the Advanced Division, you'll have to pass examinations. Unless you can bridge a twenty-level gap in Soul Power, you'd better work hard over these six years."
"Heh, but if you really can do that, there's no need to take the Intermediate or Advanced Division exams. You might as well go straight for the Unlimited Division."
Though Zhou Yi's words were a little hard to understand, the children had managed to pick out the key points.
Most of them immediately straightened up from their slouching postures. Huo Yuhao, however, kept sitting comfortably as he had before.
In Huo Yuhao's view, sitting up too stiffly did nothing at all to improve one's learning efficiency. He might as well make himself comfortable.
Zhou Yi gave the room another look. Once she was sure most of them were ready, she picked up the lesson plan and began the first class without any fuss.
"My class is Douluo history. Take out your books and turn straight to page thirty-seven."
Huo Yuhao paused at that. They weren't going to cover the first thirty-six pages?
The other students had the exact same question. Before long, someone raised a hand and asked:
"Teacher, what about the first thirty-six pages...?"
"The first thirty-six pages are elective material. If you're interested, study them on your own time. I won't require it, and it won't be on the exam."
Huo Yuhao's eyebrows twitched. What did she mean, "it won't be on the exam"? That reason sounded so... perfunctory.
Before class, he had flipped through a few pages. The first thirty-six pages seemed to cover the history of fifteen thousand years ago, mainly the founding and development of the Spirit Hall. It hardly seemed like the sort of material they could simply skip...
After all, this was a school founded by the Spirit Hall. How could it not care much about its own history?
No matter how Huo Yuhao thought about it, it seemed strange. But class was underway, so he could save his curiosity for later. As he thought this, he picked up his pen and began taking notes along with Zhou Yi.
But at that very moment, a voice reached his ear:
"Hey, classmate, do you have a spare pen? Could I borrow one? I... forgot to bring mine today."
The voice made Huo Yuhao pause. He turned to see a little girl with pinkish-blue hair leaning over while Zhou Yi wrote on the blackboard. She watched him with an expectant look.
"Classmate? Hey, classmate?"
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